Demand for investigation into mass graves in Gaza

The European Commission is demanding an independent investigation following reports of mass graves at two Gaza hospitals that were largely destroyed during Israeli sieges.

More than 340 bodies were reportedly found in graves at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.

Another 30 are said to have been found at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Both hospitals have been subject to repeated Israeli raids and sieges during the six months of war.

– This forces us to call for an independent investigation of all suspicions and all circumstances, because it really gives the impression that violations of international human rights may have occurred, says EU spokesperson Peter Stano.

Yamen Abu Suleiman of the Gaza Civil Defense told CNN that some of the bodies unearthed had their hands and feet bound.

– We don’t know if they were buried alive or executed. Most of the bodies were decomposed, he said.

During Tuesday, the UN’s human rights body OHCHR also called for an international investigation after the alarms about mass graves. Human rights chief Volker Türk said he was “appalled” by the reports.

Israel has denied that its forces have anything to do with the deaths or the graves.